Ceiba pentandra is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae, native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and to tropical west Africa. A somewhat smaller variety is found throughout southern Asia and the East Indies. Kapok is a name used in English speaking countries for both the tree and the cotton-like fluff obtained from its seed pods. In Spanish speaking countries the tree is commonly known as "ceiba". The tree is cultivated for the seed fibre, particularly in south-east Asia, and is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, silk-cotton, samauma, or ceiba.
Ceiba is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to 70 m (230 ft) tall or more, with a straight, largely branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy, and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person. The best-known, and most widely cultivated, species is Kapok, Ceiba pentandra, one of several trees called kapok.
Buttress roots are large, wide roots on all sides of a shallowly rooted tree. Typically, they are found in nutrient-poor tropical forest soils that may not be very deep. They prevent the tree from falling over while also gathering more nutrients. Buttresses are tension elements, being larger on the side away from the stress of asymmetrical canopies. The roots may interwind with buttress roots from other trees and create an intricate mesh, which may help support trees surrounding it. They can grow up to 30 feet (9.1 m) tall and spread for 30 metres above the soil then for another 30 metres below. When the roots spread horizontally, they are able to cover a wider area for collecting nutrients. They stay near the upper soil layer because all the main nutrients are found there.
Aquilaria is a genus of fifteen species of trees, called lign aloes or lign-aloes trees, in the Thymelaeaceae, native to southeast Asia. They occur particularly in the rainforests of Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Northeastern India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Borneo and New Guinea. The trees grow to 6–20 m tall. The leaves are alternate, 5–11 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a short acuminate apex and an entire margin. The flowers are yellowish-green, produced in an umbel; the fruit is a woody capsule 2.5–3 cm long.
Kapok tree can refer to several plants with seeds that grow long hairs:
Salix pentandra, the bay willow, is a species of willow native to northern Europe and northern Asia.
Borneol is a bicyclic organic compound and a terpene derivative. The hydroxyl group in this compound is placed in an endo position. There are two different enantiomers of borneol. Both d-(+)-borneol and l-(–)-borneol are found in nature.
Tristaniopsis is a group of shrub and tree in the myrtle family Myrtaceae described as a genus in 1863. They have a wide distribution in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and Australia.
Vatica pentandra is a species of plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is a tree endemic to Borneo. It is a critically endangered species threatened by habitat loss.
Callicarpa dichotoma is species of beautyberry. They are cultivated as garden trees. The flowers are pink to white. The berries which are small drupes are purple. The fruits grow closely together in large clusters. The fruit provides food for wild life. The berries are bitter and are unfit for culinary use. This species can be found in China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan.
Callicarpa formosana is a species of beautyberry. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant. The drupes resembling tiny clusters of berries are light-purple. The flowers are white. The tree is sometimes used to make herbal medicine. This species ranges from Taiwan to southern Japan.
Callicarpa longifolia is a species of beautyberry. It ranges from the Himalayas, east to Japan and south to Queensland. It is grown in yards and gardens as an ornamental plant. The roots are used as an herbal medicine to treat diarrheas.
Callicarpa erioclona is a species of beautyberry native to Vietnam, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Philippines, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago. It produces small berries that grow in tight clusters. The fruit is edible, but are not commercially grown or sold in markets. The flowers are light-pink to white. The leaves can be mixed with coconut oil to treat open wounds.
Callicarpa acuminata is a species of beautyberry native to Latin America from Mexico to Bolivia. Unlike the other species of this genus, C. acuminata produces small berry-like fruits which can be dark-purple or dark blue-purple. The fruit can sometimes be white. The flowers blooms are white. The fruit grow in tight clumps and sometimes resemble grapes. They are cultivated as garden trees.
Callicarpa pedunculata is species of beautyberry native to Australia. It is a small tree or shrub. It produces dark-purple berries that are drupes. The leaves are green to brown. It is grown as an ornamental shrub. The fruit is astringent and too acidic to be eaten by people.
Nygmia solitaria is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.
Mastixia pentandra subsp. scortechinii is a subspecies of Mastixia pentandra. It is a tree in the family Nyssaceae. It is named for the botanist Benedetto Scortechini.
Callicarpa (beautyberry) is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Lamiaceae. They are native to east and southeast Asia, Australia, Madagascar, southeast North America and South America.
Dysdercus cingulatus is a species of true bug in the family Pyrrhocoridae, commonly known as the red cotton stainer. It is a serious pest of cotton crops, the adults and older nymphs feeding on the emerging bolls and the cotton seeds as they mature, transmitting cotton-staining fungi as they do so.
